Photographer's Note

Taken at the village of Machermo in the Gokyo Valley, Khumbu region of Nepal. The Gokyo Valley is near Mt. Everest, and Machermo is at about 4400 meters elevation. The village only has about 10-12 buildings. The surrounding area has some of the most beautiful (and highest) mountains in the world. The animals in the photo are yaks, eating some grass that they have carried in the bags you can see. The clouds you see form on a daily basis. Usually the sky is clear at sunrise, but as the day goes on, warm air rises from the valleys and when it reaches the cold air of the mountains it forms clouds. Usually the clouds would come between 10 and 2 every day, so if you want to see the mountains you have to get up early.

A wonderful picture of this huge scenery. The mountains touch the sky on either side dropping to the deep valley in the centre. The yaks in the foreground do an excellent job of placing the picture, although I might have preferred the viewpoint to be slightly closer to the yaks to show them in more detail. Thanks for the pic and the note - I really ought to get my trekking boots on again soon!